My name is Nancy, I’m from France and I’m almost 22 years old. As a first year Master student in Development Economics in France, I had to do an internship to complete it. Then it was very natural that I decided to come back to Nepal to make it. Yes, “come back”! Exactly three years after my first volunteering with VIN. After being a bit frustrated by my first experience because of the lack of time to see everything I wanted, I jumped on the opportunity to be back there and finally fully enjoy the experience!

As it was an experience to discover a new country, to find myself and my way, I chose the “Children development” program in 2016, especially the project “Working for street children”. I taught English lessons to children living in the Child Watabaran Center Nepal (CWCN) in Nayapati. These children were included in a program to help them to find a better lifestyle after being in the streets for a while. This experience was rich for me, and thanks to it I have found my way and started studying in Development Economics.

So, it was completely natural for me to do my internship here, 3 years later. This time, I’ve chosen the “Women empowerment” program and especially the Microcredit project, which is completely in relation to my studies. I didn’t know what to expect with this project. I only knew that I should have to work in the Women’s cooperative in Jitpurphedi (Tinpiple). Actually, I think I expected something “bigger”, with many women working there and a lot of work to accomplish. I had the chance to work with a local volunteer Srijana and with another French volunteer, Laïla. The team was pretty good and the atmosphere friendly!

I hope my work will help the Women’s cooperative in the future. With this internship, I had the opportunity to meet some of the women and sometimes see them in their workplace.

The environment was also pretty nice around there, especially if we compare to Kathmandu, which is very polluted and sometimes crowded. Finally, this place was perfect to “recharge batteries” during the week before getting back to the city or traveling a bit for the weekends.

Even if my first goal was to do my internship here, it’s impossible to come to Nepal without visiting a little!

Because of the lack of time to do a trek in the Himalayas, I opted for alternatives closer to Kathmandu. I didn’t have the chance to go to Pokhara the first time, so it was evidence to do it now. And wow! What a great trip! Pokhara is very chilly, you could do anything you want: take a rest for a few days, explore the surroundings of Phewa lake or hike to admire mountains and landscapes. For me, it was a mix of all of that, taking the canoe to cross the lake and hike to the World Peace Pagoda, enjoying the city, admiring the sunrise on the Annapurnas from Sarangkot, without forgetting to eat some good food! I keep a wonderful souvenir of these 4 days there (even if the travel by bus was a bit… too long).

Excepting Pokhara, I discovered again Bhaktapur and Patan. I also keep an amazing souvenir of the Kathmandu Valley, I mean Dhulikhel, Panauti, Namobuddha, where I could do some hikes with beautiful views.

To concludes with this wonderful experience, I think I will go back to France at 100% satisfied this time! But I keep in my mind to come back a third time one day, to explore many more things…